Spirited spirits
by Baby Spaz Monkey
Summary: Chihiro is now sixteen years old, in the middle of high school. The spirit world, in which she once stumbled upon is now too full to contain its spirits, what will happen to chihiro when they see her familiar face.
1. Chapter 1  The Day Before

**-This is my very first Fanfic (and all together story). I'm not gonna lie to you, I know next to nothing about Japanese culture; so bear with me, : I do not own any of the characters of 'Spirited Away'.-**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 1 - The day before**

*sigh*

The sixteen year old girl couldn't help but let out. She sat on her bed, with a pale green and white designed blanket, in the corner of her room, right next to the window. Her elbow length, chestnut brown hair let down in a sloppy way. She pulled her knees in close to her chest, as her dark brown eyes were cast at the tree line that was seemingly flowing down the hill to the road.

"I am not looking forward to tomorrow," she whispered to herself.

"Chihiro" her mother called.

"What" Chihiro answered, slightly annoyed.

Being an only child did not mean that she had a shortage of chores, and she just spent her whole day helping her mom do things like grocery shopping, shopping for school supplies, cleaning the windows (outside and in), and, yes, the dreaded dished; by hand, since they didn't have a dishwasher, not since they moved to this neighbourhood.

"Don't use that tone with me, it's Rena, she's on the phone".

Ah yes, Rena. When Chihiro first went to school in this small town, she felt she didn't fit in. Not since she was 'Spirited away'. That time they had trouble moving in because her family arrived four days after the movers showed up. When asked about this, her parents were speechless. They didn't think that side trip to that 'abandoned theme park' took four days. Only their daughter, Chihiro, remembered all that had happened on the other side of the tunnel. She kept this knowledge to herself not only because her parents, or anyone else wouldn't believe a girl just entering junior high, but she herself was feeling a little down, because she had to leave someone very precious to her on the other side. This had to be, because he was the Kohaku River spirit. He was known as Haku to her and basically everyone on the other side.

Chihiro quickly made her way out of her room, down the stairs, and to her mother, who was impatiently waiting for her dawdling daughter to retrieve the phone. Chihiro snatched the cordless phone away from her mother and retreated back to her bedroom.

"Hello", she answered while pulling out a photo album and dropping it and herself back on her bed.

"Hi Chihiro. Are you excited for school tomorrow?" Rena asked excitedly.

"You didn't really phone me just for that did you?" Chihiro asked in return, a little surprised her friend would actually be excited for school. Not that she was.

"Well kinda. It's our second year of High school. You never managed to find a boyfriend last year, and the guy I was dating turned out to be a jerk."

"You dumped another one ... ? You're cruel. If you keep at that rate you're going to run out of guys." Chihiro replied to the talkative Rena.

"We're not supposed to be talking about me right now, we're talking about you. I mean last year you didn't even look interested in finding a boyfriend. If you keep that up, you're not going to find a good one, and end up with a loser." Rena said turning the attention back on Chihiro.

"Did you finish your school shopping, Rena?", Chihiro said, desperately avoiding the topic of 'boyfriend' with Rena.

"...No."

"I'll go shopping with you. I'll meet you at your place in twenty minutes"

"Okay" Rena said gleefully before hanging up the phone.

_'Man, that girl can TALK'_ Chihiro thought to herself.

Chihiro scooted off her bed and opened her dresser. She pulled a dark blue t-shirt, and pair of black shorts. As a final touch to her casual outfit, she took the glittering magenta coloured ponytail, and tied her hair back.

She ran down the stairs and put the phone back on the base.

"Mom, I'm going shopping with Rena"

"Okay. Bring some eggs on your way back, we're running low."

With that, Chihiro took off from her blue house. (AN: Yeah, her house is blue. It was in the movie.) It took her fifteen minutes to get to her friend's house.

When she knocked on the door, Rena was already there by the door waiting for her. They both walked down the street, and down the hill, talking all the way to the mall.

"My mom only gave me enough for the school stuff" Rena said as the finally entered the mall where they would to their shopping.

"Well I have some money for afterwards. So I could do a little shopping"

About an hour after shopping for school supplies, the left that particular store, and entered an accessory store. Chihiro picked up a small statue, about four inches tall, that looked very familiar, except she remembered it life size. She bought it and a carton of eggs, then she and Rena left the mall to go home.

"Well, I'll see you at school tomorrow, Chihiro"

"Yeah, See ya"

Chihiro then walked home alone, eager to get to bed, because she was now exhausted. When she got home she took her shoes off and just left them where she took them off. Not caring if her parents yelled at her for leaving her shoes in front of the door, she trudged up the stairs, after she put the eggs in the fridge.

When she got to her room, she took her treasured ponytail out and put it and the small statue on top of her dresser, then she dropped herself onto her bed letting her dreams take over her mind.

(Enter dream)

Chihiro, who was for some reason out in the dark, was running as fast as she could away from the river, which was growing in size, threatening to swallow everything. Her path was blocked by tables with pigs, of quite a large size, eating at them. Since junior high she has had a small fear of pigs. She couldn't go forward, through the pig blockade, and she couldn't turn back because of the ever growing flood behind her. She was trapped. Suddenly the ground underneath her gave way and she fell, onto a big, dirty, smelly blob in a tub, and the 'flood' followed her and filled the tub. The blob reached out to grab her, when she abruptly woke up.

(End dream (a sentence ago))

"That was Weird. I haven't had a dream like that in four years-ish." She said quietly, still sweating from her dream. "But it's like I've seen all these things and creatures before. Very strange."

Reassuring herself that it was just a nightmare, she coaxed herself back to sleep.

"You actually did it Haku. We made it to the other side." Lynn said surprised they got to the other side of the tunnel.

"Yes" Haku said with a small smile on his face.

They walked down the dirt road and the streets to the town, until they came to a familiar sight: a bath house; though this place also had a new pool. They looked at each other, realizing they had no money.

"I guess we can work here, since we're experienced with this job. At least I am." Haku looked up at Lynn, knowing she was right. When it came to the basics in a bath house, he didn't know much.

It wasn't even a day when Lynn got the job; Haku got hired as a lifeguard. While she was working, Haku set out on a place to stay.

* * *

**-this is only the first chapter, so it should get better (in my opinion it does). Please review.-**


	2. Chapter 2  Kira

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the character of 'Spirited Away**

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Kira**

"Hurry Chihiro, You're gonna miss the bus."

"I'm coming already. Sheesh" Chihiro stated, but was quickly cut off when she saw a ghostly child. Or she thought she did, when she blinked it wasn't there anymore.

"Chihiro! It's here"

"Y-yeah" Chihiro climbed onto the bus, still in a slight trance from what she saw; or didn't see, she still wasn't really sure.

She got to school twenty minutes later, when she got to her desk she rest her head on it. She completely forgot to unpack her supplies in her locker.

"Chihiro? Are you okay?"

"Yeah" she let out with a sigh. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Because you brought a weird statue to school." Rena said bluntly, pointing to the very statue that Chihiro bought the day before.

"I didn't bring-" Chihiro was stunned to see that Rena was right. She didn't remember packing it, she was sure she left it on her dresser. She sat in her desk just staring at it for about two minutes. She would have stared at it longer, but the bell rang, so she quickly shoved it in her backpack. For this reason, Chihiro was glad she didn't unpack yet.

The first day of school was always a tad boring. It was the same every year, 'this is how this grade works', 'no more luxuries'.

"Chihiro, You need to put your things away when break comes." the teacher said a little disappointed that he had to deal with slackers on the first day.

Chihiro was surprised that he could see her backpack, because she sat in the back, and her backpack was behind her. Though her teacher was not looking at her backpack, he was looking at the item on her desk. "Eh?" was the only sound she could make because the item was the statue. _'How did it get on my desk again?'_ she thought worriedly. She heard a light giggle that sounded like it came from the statue itself. That was it. Now she was scared.

When break came, she hurriedly put her things in her locker; including the statue, and took out the things she might need for her next class. When she got there, the teacher said pretty much the same thing because, again, the statue was on her desk in plain sight, and, again, she heard giggling.

By lunch, she gave up and kept the statue within arm's reach at all times; fearing that if, whatever it was, got angry, she would pay.

"Chihiro..." said a familiar voice.

Chihiro jumped. "Oh. Hi Rena" she started when she looked at a very concerned Rena.

"Are you okay? You seem worried about something. Is there something you wanna talk about?" Rena said sitting down next to her best friend.

"No. I'm fine. Just a little nervous 'cause it's the first day." Chihiro replied smiling at her worried friend.

"Liar"

"I'm not lying" Chihiro said.

"I didn't say anything" Rena said, a little bit confused.

That statement left Chihiro confused as well, then, once again, she heard giggling, and she got goose bumps.

"Hey, How about we go to the bath house today after school. To loosen you up. Then we can check out their new pool." Rena said with a sudden, but her usual, spark of excitement.

"Sure"

The rest of the day went well. All teachers made some comment to her statue, but she simply said that 'it made her feel secure, knowing it was near her', which in fact, it did not. It did quite the opposite, it made her feel scared, and she got goose bumps every time she heard giggling, from anywhere. But she didn't really have a choice, every time she tried to stow it away, it popped up standing in front of her, with no reason. The final bell rang, and she shot up and zipped out the door to meet Rena. Sure enough, Rena was waiting by the enterance waiting for her. Chihiro relaxed a bit as she walked to the bath house with her talkative best friend (AN: Yeah, Rena does most of the unwritten talking).

When they got to the said bath house, they were promptly greeted by an attendant, which also suggested they go to the pool that day too, the two girls agreed.

They bought new bathing suits then quickly went into the changing room, eager to get to the bath. As they walked down the hall, one of the employees dropped her bucket (AN: Those really wide and shallow buckets), and the contents were scattered across the hallway. Chihiro wore the same expression as the employee: surprised.

"What's her problem? Come on, let's go." Rena said.

"You go on ahead, I'll catch up" Chihiro said calmly.

"Okay"

Rena quickly scurried off after giving Chihiro a weird look. Chihiro changed her expression from surprise to suspecting.

"Lynn...?" she said under her breath.

The employee obviously heard her, because her expression changed as well.

"Sen?" She said excitedly.

"Yes. But my real name is Chihiro. 'Sen' was the name Yubaba gave me (AN: If anyone is unsure about this, please watch the movie)"

"Oh. Chihiro. You have a very pretty name. I missed you so much, I'm very happy to see you again." Lynn said.

"Yeah. Um, how about we get together some other time; Rena's probably annoyed that I'm taking so long" Chihiro said, hoping she wouldn't offend Lynn.

"Okay. Oh, yeah I can't keep talking to you while I'm on the job, and you must be getting cold in a towel" Lynn laughed it off and went back to work after a short 'goodbye'.

Chihiro walked into the steamy room that was obviously the public bathes. She looked around and saw many people. She kept peering around the room and spied her friend, Rena, in the corner. When Rena saw Chihiro in return, she waved her over.

"I love the swim suit you chose, I think you will surely find someone while wearing that." Rena said in her sexiest voice.

Though this comment made Chihiro blush and cover her chest with her arms. She a dark blue tankini with pink flowers coiled around the side.

"Is that all you think about? Seriously, yours is a lot more revealing than mine" Chihiro said trying to get the little amount of attention off of her.

Rena was wearing a red bikini that was tied to her at her back and neck. The scarlet on her body matched her raven coloured hair; which was tied up at the moment. After a while of well earned relaxation and some socializing (AN: courtesy of Rena) Rena went off on her own in the bath to flirt, trying to score a boyfriend.

This insulted Chihiro just a little bit, but she soon got over it and left the bath. She grabbed her towel and wrapped it around herself.

Walking down the hall she spotted Lynn working, but decided not to bother her. She kept going down the hall until she reached the pool. She located a table and chair next to the wall and put her towel down so she could re-use it later.

_'It's been a while since I've been to a pool'_ she thought as she waded into the water. When she was deep enough, she leaned back until she was floating. She began kicking. Soon after, she felt something on her shoulder. She straightened up; her feet no longer reached the bottom because she was now swimming in the deep end of the pool.

_'I must've bumped into someone'_ She turned herself around so she was facing the deeper end and saw no one. _'Maybe I imagined it'_, she turned herself around, and nearly jumped out of her swimsuit. A boy, four inches from her face, but that's not what scared her. The water showed no sign that someone was there, he was transparent; see through. She saw her towel on the table she put it on, on the far side of the room, right through him.

"Hey there, I'm Kira" he said.

Feeling absolutely helpless, and frightened, she let out a short shriek and swam as fast as she could backwards. Without her knowing, the deep end wall was only two feet behind her, and she went for it at full speed. On impact, her head hit the wall, and left her sinking unconscious in the deep end.

* * *

**See I told you it would get better. At least I thought it did. R & R. Tell me what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3  Reunion

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of 'Spirited away'.**

* * *

**Chapter 3 - Reunion**

(Flash back)

"Chihiro, hurry up, or we'll leave without you."

"No, wait, I'm coming mommy"

Four year old Chihiro struggled to catch up with her parents. The beach was on the other side of the river, where they were it was a foot drop to the deep abyss below, how deep the water was, you couldn't tell. She and her family just spent quality time together sitting on the edge of the river with their feet in the cool water.

As of now, her parents had their socks and shoes on, and were already by the car; waiting for their little girl to get there.

Chihiro was running along the river barefoot; her parents didn't give her time to put her socks and shoes on, and since she was going to be sitting in the back it didn't matter to her parents if her shoes were on or off. She wasn't paying as much attention to the ground in front of her as she should have been. There was a really large stick right in front of her, so, like all clumsy children, she tripped on the large stick. Thankfully she didn't fall in the river, but she dropped one of her little, pink shoes in the water.

"Oh no" she whispered.

Her parents weren't paying attention to her at the time, so they didn't see her fall down, so, of course, they didn't see the young girl reach down to try and retrieve it. It was too far for her to reach, but she didn't give up. She reached down until she lost her balance and fell in.

"**CHIHIRO**" Her parents screamed in unison, but it was too late, their little girl was now lost to the river.

_'Mommy, Daddy, Help! I can't breathe'_ she thought as she struggled. The young four year old was unsuccessful against the powerful current. Though she did manage to retrieve her shoe.

Before she lost her breath and consciousness completely, she landed on something that was moving. It was big. It was so smooth, but not slimy. She opened her eyes slowly, and couldn't believe her eyes. A dragon; at least it looked like it. It was white, with teal coloured, seven inch hair lining the top of its lengthy body. She sat on its body right behind its head. Due to the speed it was swimming, she grabbed its foot and a half length horn. After it knew that she had a firm hold on it, it swam up, just under the surface.

Chihiro was on the surface, just barely, so she could see she was closing in on the shore. She climbed onto land, and looked back quickly to see her rescuer before it disappeared. As it turned to leave, she saw that it had a canine-like shaped head, with beautiful green eyes. That's all she saw before it submerged back into the river.

"Chihiro! Chihiro!" her parents had seen her now standing next to the river, and were running to her.

"Mommy, Daddy-" She said relieved before she was impaled with a tight embrace by the two adults. They kept on repeating the young girls name, and crying as they were trying to utter the name every time.

(End Flash back)

When Chihiro came to, her eyelids were unbelievably heavy, and she couldn't open them. Her thoughts were in a panic because, at the moment, she couldn't remember the last fifteen minutes; at least, and she couldn't breathe. She heard her friend Rena nearby. She sounded sad. She was saying thing like: 'please wake up', and 'It's my fault, I shouldn't have convinced her to come'. Chihiro also heard Lynn nearby; she was trying to convince the downed Chihiro to get up. Chihiro was surprised, but not surprised enough to open her eyes and continue breathing, when she felt repeated pressure on her chest: about thirty times. And then something warm pressed on her lips. Warm air rushed into her mouth, down her throat, and into her lungs. She shot her eyes open and began to cough violently, vomiting water (AN: okay, I know it seems gross because I used the word vomit, but I didn't know what else to use.). She rolled onto her side to help get the remaining water out of her. When she was done coughing, she began panting. She looked around and saw quite a few people around her, all with relieved expressions on their faces.

She managed to take in all her surroundings, and was now trying to remember what happened. She was a good swimmer, so how did this happen? A great weight fell on her. It was Rena, she was crying while she hugged her best friend.

"I'm so glad you're okay. I'm sorry, I should have been with you, I shouldn't have left you. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" She said, but since she was crying, it sounded more like shouting, infested with hiccups.

"It's not your fault, you didn't know this would happen" Chihiro replied. Her voice sounded very husky, like she had a bad case of the flu.

Rena leaned back and looked at Chihiro in disbelief by hearing her voice, but soon accepted it, and turned to the lifeguard behind her. Chihiro gasped quietly and held in her breath, she was in shock at who she saw.

"Thank you for saving my best friend" Her friend said whole-heartedly.

"You're very welcome. I'm glad Chihiro is all right" He said in return.

"How did you know her name was 'Chihiro'?"

"I've known her for a long time." The lifeguard said with a small, but pleasant smile. "It's good to see you again". At this point all the people around them had already left.

"...Haku?" Chihiro whispered after a short while. This left Rena very confused.

"You've been interested in a guy this whole time? Why didn't you tell me? If I knew, then I wouldn't have tried to set you up in seventh grade" Rena blurted out.

All of these comments made Chihiro blush and look away from Haku.

He stood up and held out his hand to the still blushing girl. She looked at it, then looked away, but still took it. She was too nervous to look at him. Rena was killing all the giggle urges she was having. Of all the time she had known Chihiro, she had never seen her act this way. Rena was so excited that her best friend actually liked someone, but it looked like these two had a bit of history. She made a mental note to pry the information out of Chihiro later.

Haku raised Chihiro to her feet. She was look straight down. She was more nervous than ever. She felt absolutely ridiculous in her swim suit. Being next to Rena didn't help at all, since Rena actually had the perfect figure, it was so sad to her that she wanted to cry. It was true that she herself had grown; though not by much, and the undeniable fact that Haku did too. He was tall, nearly a foot taller than she was. He was wearing blue trunks and a white t-shirt (AN: Yes, I'm sticking to their main colours in the movie: P). Chihiro got a sudden burst of courage and looked up at him. His hair looked about the same length; she couldn't really tell because he had it tied back. He had those same green eyes that she remembered, but this time, when she looked at them, she looked into them and got lost in them, at least for about two seconds. Her heart skipped a beat and, again, a light coat of red painted her cheeks, and she looked away.

Haku wanted to say something to her, since it looked like she was battling with her emotions. Actually he was also struggling with his emotions. He was now feeling things in a different way. Indeed he had fallen in love with her a long time ago, but now that he was reunited with her, he didn't know what to do. He was older now; he wanted to do many things. He wanted to hold her, but he also wanted to do so much more. He shook his head at the thought, thinking it was improper. He looked down at her, from her little toes to her face that was cast down and red. She slowly moved her head up, and they made eye contact. His head went blank. It felt like she was reading his thoughts. When she ripped her gaze from his, he was almost certain that she did.

He sensed something negative nearby.

"Hey, are you done flirting yet, I want to swim some more" said a slightly irritated voice.

Chihiro felt a chill crawl up her spine, and she looked to her right, and she remembered what happened. Visions of a ghost boy popping up right in front of her, then her swimming fast backwards, then hitting a wall: hard.

She raised her free arm; her other hand was still in Haku's, and rested her hand on the back of her head, and sure enough, there was an 'oh so tender' bump. When she touched it, she nearly started to cry. It felt like the nerves there were directly connected to her tear ducts.

Goose bumps popped up on her skin and she started to shake in fear. This was noticed by Haku, and he looked at what she was looking at, but alas he couldn't see anything. He squinted slightly, using his magic to make it visible, but only to him, and whoever was spiritually aware; very few people were. Chihiro saw the source of the voice, and froze.

Haku looked at Chihiro. She noticed him looking at her then to Rena. This made her feel bad, but then she noticed the look in his eyes. He wanted her to leave.

"Um, R-Rena? Why don't you hop into the pool, I'll be there soon" She said nervously.

"Okay, I'll give you two some quality time alone." Rena replied with some extra emphasis on the word alone.

With that, Rena skipped off happily and, quite literally, hopped into the pool.

"You can see him?" Haku said in a serious tone.

"Yes... Ever since I bought a statue, it's been popping up around me, and lately I've been hearing voices. And just now in the pool, he popped up in front of me"

'And scaring me to death; almost literally' she added in her head.

"I told you. My name is Kira. Don't you recognize me?" the ghost said.

Chihiro shook her head. "Should I?" At this remark, the ghost named 'Kira' wore a hurt expression.

"You...you really don't remember me, Sen? The last time we saw each other, was when you left Zeniba's home"

Chihiro straightened up. "No-face? That's you? You look different, and sound different; of course I wouldn't recognize you." She gained enough confidence to hold her ground.

"And why did you always laugh? You scared me! ...Why are you here?"

To the girls' last question, Haku had to tell her what was going on.

"The spirit world is full. A large number of spirits got pushed out of our world. No-face is one of these spirits..." He started.

"...what?" Chihiro was already worried, because she knew from past experience, that what made the spirit world dangerous was some of the spirits. What if violent spirits were now wandering the living world?

Haku noticed the horror in her eyes.

"The most powerful spirits; like Yubaba and Zeniba, are using their magic to increase the size of the spirit world. Other high class magic users were sent to the living world to retrieve the wandering spirits." Haku said trying to reassure his frightened friend.

"So you came to the living world with Lynn to get to spirits here. I thought you were one of the best magic users, since you were Yubaba's apprentice." Chihiro said.

"...I wanted to come to the living world. I wanted a chance to see you..." He muttered to himself, making sure she didn't hear.

Kira heard this, and grew angry.

"Sen is MINE!" he said as his anger appeared as flames around him. His voice sounded very distorted, and this made Chihiro take a step back in fear.

She had no idea how to react to something like this. She ripped her hand from Haku's and she ran away. She ran as fast as she could until she got to the changing room. She locked the door and stayed there.

Kira tried to disappear to go after her, but Haku's magic prevented it. Haku had put up a barrier that kept in Kira's spirit. Kira just glared and grit his teeth together at Haku.

"Lynn, go to Chihiro. Make sure she's okay." Haku said not looking away from the angry ghost.

"Yeah" and with that, Lynn took off after Chihiro.

Rena had witnessed Chihiro run away from Haku, and was disappointed. She swam to the edge, and climbed out of the pool. She walked to Haku, and tapped on his shoulder to get his attention. He looked away from Kira to look at Chihiro's friend.

"I don't know how you two were a long time ago, but Chihiro is a bit rusty when it comes to relationships. After this you may not feel confident enough to stay with her, but I can tell. She really likes you, so don't give up on her."Rena said with a smile. She turned to leave, but froze after two steps.

"I'm going to the change room, Haku".

At this sudden change of tone, Haku was a little worried. He turned around to look at the captive ghost, but he wasn't there. _'No, Rena!'_ Haku thought in a panic. When he turned to find the girl, she wasn't in sight. _'Chihiro'_. Haku grit his teeth, and started running towards the change rooms.

Lynn got to the change room, but the girl she was looking for was not in sight, but she noticed that one of the private change rooms was locked. Lynn walked up to the door and knocked on it.

"Chihiro? Are you okay?" she asked.

"I-I'm fine" came Chihiro's worried voice.

"Why don't you come out?"

"Um...No, I think I'll stay in here for a while."

Chihiro sat in the corner of the room, holding her knees in. She was scared. She wasn't as brave as she was when she went to the spirit world long ago. She wondered when that changed; she wondered when she became a coward.

"Can I come in then?"

Lynn's voice sounded concerned, Chihiro didn't like what she was doing. After being reunited with the two closest people she met in the spirit world, she ran away from one, and she locked the other out.

"...Okay..." She finally said.

"Rena? What's wrong? You don't look so good."

After hearing this, Chihiro froze in front of the door. Something wasn't right.

"Move. I need to be with Sen."

Chihiro moved away from the door. She never told anyone that she had been called 'Sen' before. She backed up until she hit the wall.

"You're not Rena, who are you?" Lynn demanded.

"Clever, to know I'm not Sen's friend 'Rena'. Move"

"No, you won't get to her"

"I said MOVE!" After the final word, the possessed Rena sent Lynn flying backwards. Lynn hit the tiled wall, breaking it on impact. All the girls that were in the room, now made themselves scarce, fearing that they would be next.

"Sen, open the door for me. I just want to be with you"

Chihiro was too scared to speak. She grabbed her arms and started to shake.

"Sen, open up"

"Kira! Get away from that door!" Haku ordered.

The possessed Rena turned her head to look at Haku. She raised her hand, and just as she sent a powerful energy blast (AN: I'm not talking about the kind in Dragon Ball Z, you can't see these blasts), it died right before Haku, and he sent a blast of his own right back. Kira was knocked out of Rena, unconscious, both Rena and Kira. Since Kira was no longer awake, he was automatically sent back to his 'no-face' statue, and there he stayed for the rest of the day.

Chihiro woke up the sleeping Rena, while Haku tended to Lynn.

"Chihiro? What happened? Why am I on the floor? Why is the change room a disaster? Why is Haku in the girls change room?" Rena said, bombarding her friend with questions.

_'Okay Chihiro, think of something. I sure can't tell my best friend that she has been possessed by the ghost that has been following me around. Here goes'_

"Rena, a psycho came in here, and she hit you first. Everyone who was in here got scared and left. The psycho grabbed Lynn, and threw her at the wall. Haku came and sent the psycho away" Chihiro said, hoping that Rena would believe her, because the truth was less believable.

"Wow...The guy you like is like a superhero. You're so lucky." Rena said with a smile.

* * *

**How was Chapter 3? good, I hope. Review. Tell me what you think. (Please be nice though)**


	4. Chapter 4  Insanity

**Notes and Disclaimer: We're about half way through, and It's gonna get better. I don't own any of the characters of 'Spirited Away', but I do own Rena. :P**

* * *

**Chapter 4 - Insanity**

Chihiro looked up at the ceiling from her bed with her fingers gently placed on her forehead, remembering the fiasco at the pool.

After Rena woke up, they quickly changed out of their swim suits. Just as they were leaving, Haku stopped them at the door. Rena didn't have to be told she waited for Chihiro about five feet away.

"Chihiro, you said that strange things have been happening to you ever since you bought a particular statue. Can I see it?" he asked.

"Sure" Chihiro answered as she reached in her bag. "It's not here. I was sure it was in here" she said still searching.

"Where was the first place you put it?"

"At home, on my dresser. Why?"

"Kira isn't awake anymore, so his power has been cancelled. He should be at your house."

"Oh, then I'll bring it tomorrow" Chihiro was happy for this because now she had an excuse to come back and see him.

"No. I need to see it immediately" Haku said sternly.

"O-Okay. Then you can come to my place." She blushed as she said this, but he wanted to see the statue; and the statue was at her place.

Haku quickly went inside to talk to Lynn, then tell his manager that there was something urgent he had to do as soon as possible, so he was leaving early.

The manager let him go early, so Haku went to go change.

"So, why are we still here?" Rena asked Chihiro.

"We're waiting for Haku"

"Why?"

"Because he's c-coming to my place" Chihiro felt very nervous when talking about Haku, she didn't know when that happened either.

"Really? Okay, tomorrow at school, you tell me everything" Rena said, but Chihiro only managed and awkward laugh. She had no idea what she was going to tell Rena.

Just after Rena's last squeal of excitement, Haku came walking out. He wore faded black baggy jeans and a regular blue shirt. When he got to the girls, they left towards Chihiro and Rena's neighbourhood (AN: All the while Rena talked up a storm). Rena left as they neared her house. Chihiro and Haku walked in silence for a little while.

'_Now that I think about it, what on earth am I going to tell mom and dad? I really hope they don't mind'_ Chihiro thought worriedly.

"...So...Rena isn't spiritually aware. She didn't seem to be able to see Kira" Haku started.

Hearing Haku talk about Rena was like poison to her ears. When she was alone with Haku she didn't want to talk about her best friend, even though she loved her very much (AN: Like a sister, come on people). _"!"_ Thinking like this made her realize something, which made her a little depressed. As Haku kept walking, Chihiro stopped; she looked at the pavement in front of her.

_'I'm jealous. Even though Rena doesn't like Haku that way. At least, I don't think she does.'_

"Chihiro?" Haku was standing four feet in front of her, looking at her questionably.

She looked up at him. _'Does he have any of those feelings for me? Or am I just a friend to him'_. She couldn't help but feel worried, and that worry showed on her face.

"Chihiro."

She snapped out of her thoughts, and plastered a big, but fake, smile on her face.

"We're here" She said as she ran in front of him. She opened the front door.

"I'm home"

"Chihiro, where were you?" her mom asked as she walked around the corner. She noticed Haku standing behind her daughter, and, like most parents out there, was suspicious.

"I was at the new pool with Rena. This is a friend of mine, he's a lifeguard at the pool, and he saved my life" Chihiro said.

"Oh. Thank you for saving her..."

"Haku" he filled in.

Chihiro's mom looked back at her daughter. "Good thing your father works late" She said feeling amused just imagining what he would do, while at this thought, Chihiro shivered.

"Come on" Chihiro said as she started to go upstairs to her bedroom, Haku followed close behind her.

They walked around the corner, and Chihiro opened the door to reveal her bedroom. She walked in first and stopped by her dresser, and sure enough, the 'no-face' statue was standing there, right where she first placed it. Haku stood in front of her dresser, and held his hand open in front of the statue.

"There. I put a barrier around it. Now Kira can't leave the statue, and he can't move it around."

"You didn't send him back to the spirit world?" Chihiro asked, hoping he would be able to send Kira back. She didn't hate him, but sometimes, he got out of control.

"No. Powerful spirits; like Kira, need to willingly return. I can't return him by force... I've done all I can here so I should leave"

"You're going back to the spirit world already? But, I just saw you again, you can't just leave like this-" Chihiro was scared that they had to be separated again, but this time, she wouldn't be able to bear it.

"No, I'm living with Lynn here on the living side. I can't go back until all the spirits in this area have returned. As long as Kira is here with you, so will I" he assured her.

Chihiro blushed when she heard him say that he would stay with her. She looked away, but a small smile crept onto her face.

"Thank you" she whispered.

"Now then, um, goodbye."

As soon as he said 'goodbye', Chihiro felt her heart being ripped out. She didn't want him to leave. She sat down on her bed, so he wouldn't see her eyes well up with tears. She made sure not one tear would escape, and she willed them to go away; at least while Haku was here.

"...yeah. Bye." she said, hoping he wouldn't hear her voice quivering.

Haku had noticed her hands shaking, he noticed her dark brown eyes redden with tears, and he noticed her voice cracking; he noticed everything, and he knew why. He didn't want to leave her, at least not like this. A little bit of pink touched his cheeks and he started to feel nervous. He walked over to Chihiro, and got onto his knees in front of her. He put his hands on her knees, and leaned forward.

Chihiro looked up and saw Haku's face inches from hers. Her face turned a dark shade of red. _'I-is he gonna kiss me?'_ she thought, not knowing how to react.

She closed her eyes tight. Then she felt him lean closer to her.

Haku pressed his lips onto her forehead. Chihiro opened her eyes; she wasn't expecting this.

"I will see you again" He told her. He walked out of the door, and left the house.

Chihiro sat in silence in response of what just happened. She put her fingers to her head and leaned back on her bed. A pink coloured her face, and a smile drawn across it. Giggling, she got off of her bed and changed into her pyjama's. After that she set her alarm clock for school the next day, and got under the covers, and fell asleep.

-...-

*BeepBeepBeep*

"Ung"

*BeepBeepBeep*

"Okay, Okay. I'm up." Chihiro said groggily as she climbed out of bed.

"Good morning"

"Morning" Chihiro answered.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah" She said, a smile nipping at her face.

"Did something good happen?"

"Yeah, I think something did"

Chihiro was so tired she didn't notice who she was talking to. She changed out of her pyjamas and into her school uniform.

"Can I come to school with you?"

Chihiro looked at her dresser, and saw an awake and well rested Kira sitting on her dresser. At this she let out a yelp.

"Chihiro, did you fall out of bed again?" her mom called from downstairs.

""Y-yeah. I'll be down in a minute" Chihiro called back. She looked back at Kira, who she knew was bound to his statue by the barrier Haku put there. "No."

"Then can you tell me the good thing that happened?" Kira said smiling at the girl who was now straightening out the wrinkles in her skirt.

"No. It's none of your business" with that she turned to leave. She was stopped by an annoyed ghost. He was now floating in front of the door.

"Then take me with you" papers in her room were now starting to fly.

"Why do you want to come with me so bad?"

The papers in the room now fluttered to the floor, and Kira looked a little bit confused. "Didn't I tell you? I just want to be with you."

"...Okay, but you have to behave yourself." She grabbed the statue and ran downstairs. While Chihiro ate her breakfast, Kira sat cross legged in the air next to her.

"So what happened yesterday that made you feel good?" Kira asked.

Chihiro started to cough, because Kira's question made her swallow her food the wrong way. When she finally stopped coughing, she gave Kira her meanest look, he shivered a little.

"It's none of your business!" she said angrily.

"What's none of my business?" her father asked. Chihiro looked at the doorway, and both her parents were there looking at Chihiro worriedly.

Chihiro heard laughing, so she looked behind her and saw Kira holding his sides in laughter. Chihiro glared at him, she wanted to tell him to 'shut up' but her parents would get mad at her. They obviously couldn't see Kira. If she wasn't talking to them, then who was she talking to? An invisible boy? Thinking how this would end made Chihiro sigh.

"I'm leaving now. I'll see you after school" she said picking up her bag. She walked out the door, and as soon as she closed it, she said as quietly as she could: "I hate you."

Kira's statue was in Chihiro's bag, so he was obligated to follow, but he wasn't complaining, until Chihiro had to put her bag into her locker. He cursed his poor luck, while Chihiro was happy for it.

Similar situations (the one she had with her parents) happened for the rest of the week, and many people, even Rena, thought she was slipping into insanity.

_'I miss Haku'_ she thought.

* * *

**Please R & R**


	5. Chapter 5  Jealousy

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of 'Spirited Away'**

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Jealousy**

(Flash back)

"No-face, did you hear that?" Zeniba asked. "Would you please go find what made that noise? When you come back, I'll have dinner ready."

No-face knew that Zeniba was a master in the kitchen, so he didn't waste any time leaving the house. He opened the door and walked forward five steps. He heard a strong suction sound coming from above him somewhere (AN: not directly above him). What he saw was a giant rip in the sky. It was sucking in spirits in from everywhere into its black abyss. No-face tried rushing back inside to warn Zeniba, but he was not successful. He ran (AN: sort of) all of one step before he was gently lifted off of the ground, and tossed into the giant horrifying rip.

When No-face came to, he was floating two feet off the ground along a paved street, lined with glass buildings. He looked around, and thought what anyone would think if they appeared in a strange place. _'Where am I?'_ He tried to walk, but he couldn't reach the ground. It didn't take long before he learned how to get around while just floating.

"This way Kira"

No-face stopped abruptly. 'Kira'. That name sounded familiar. He looked around to see who had said this name, though he saw no one. He kept searching around him until his eyes locked onto a figure in the window of the building next to him. He floated slowly closer to it. He saw a boy, around seventeen years of age with dark hair and eyes a ghostly blue. He was wearing a long black overcoat like cloth (AN: you know like in star wars, the long cape like thing that goes all the way around the body, or grim reaper style). No-face lifted his right hand to confirm that this was indeed his own reflection, and, sure enough, the right hand was raised.

Although all the body movements were identical, the reflections face was looking at no-face like he was an idiot.

"Go that way Kira" the reflection said sternly while pointing behind no-face.

This scared no-face. "...eh..." he said while pointing to himself.

*sigh* "Yes, you. If you wanna say something then say it."

Once again no-face was surprised. "...Wh-who are you...? Who's Kira?" he said, realizing he had a voice, and a vocabulary; more words than 'eh' and 'ah'. If only he had these words four years earlier, to offer to a young girl.

"Obviously, I'm your reflection. You're 'Kira', a no-face spirit. Welcome to the living world. Now go." said the reflection, still urging Kira to go in the other direction.

Kira, getting the hint, turned around and left in that direction. The reflection gave Kira directions, until he go to an accessory shop. From there, Kira was on his own, but he felt something pulling him. He approached one of the shelves and stopped in front of one of the statues. It looked like him, or it used to, it was the no-face statue. Before he could do or say anything, he was sucked into it.

_'Now what? I've been sealed into a small statue. What do I do?'_ he thought weakly.

(End Flash back)

"Kira? Kira. Kira, what's wrong?" Chihiro's voice rescued him from memory lane; a truly unpleasant place.

He was sitting on her dresser; like always, and she was standing four feet in front of him. He looked up at her, and smiled sweetly. He floated off of the dresser and towards her. He grabbed her hand and began pulling her close.

Chihiro, shocked at this sudden action; well sudden to her, yanked her hand away and retreated towards the door (AN: she learned not do scream anymore, due to her look of insanity).

"What's going on with you?" she asked hesitantly.

"I want to be with you" Kira said, trying to understand why she pulled away.

"I know that. But why did you do that?"

It took him a few seconds, but he finally came to an answer.

"It's that river spirit. Isn't it?" He said with a sudden anger flaring up around him. "Take me to Him!"

"What do you want to do to Haku...?" Chihiro asked already blushing. She took a few steps back. Finally she bolted out of the room. Kira calmed down immediately, now feeling guilty.

_'I think I'll leave him at home today.'_

Kira looked out of the bedroom window and saw Chihiro catch up with Rena. _'I'm sorry, Chihiro'_, Kira so wished he could be with her as she walked to school. _'I might as well wait'_ he thought planting himself on top of her dresser.

-...-

"Are you alright, Chihiro? You're red." Rena stated, as she placed a hand on Chihiro's forehead.

"I'm fine Rena. Just problems at home, no big deal." Assured Chihiro.

"Well, if you're feeling well, then why don't we go visit that cute lifeguard" Rena teased.

"What? No."

"Okay. You have to tell me everything. When and how you two met, why you separated, and what happened the other day when he went to your house."

Chihiro was dumbfounded. How could she tell Rena without sounding like she lost her sanity? She couldn't. It was completely and utterly impossible.

"It's...a secret." She finally said.

"What? Why won't you tell me? Unless you went all the way." Rena suspected.

"NO! We didn't. It's just a precious memory I'd prefer not to share" Chihiro smiled.

"Fine. Just tell me, you like this guy very much, right?"

"...Yes...I do." Chihiro said with her sweetest smile.

Rena was so happy for her friend that she skipped ahead and giggled all the way to school before Chihiro. When Rena was out of sight, Chihiro's sweet smile, turned into an ugly frown.

_'What am I gonna do about Kira?'_ Just as she thought this, Lynn came into sight.

"Oh, Hi Chihiro." Lynn greeted.

"Hi Lynn" Chihiro tried to sound cheerful, but the truth was that she didn't want to pretend to be happy when she wasn't.

"What's wrong?" Lynn asked sounding concerned.

"Kira" was all that Chihiro said. The look of shame covered her face. She felt like she was somehow betraying Haku, even though she stopped it when she could. Now she didn't want to go home.

"He's a monster. Has he hurt you?" Lynn said.

"No. Uh, how is Haku?" Chihiro asked.

"He's fine. He has to work more shifts than me though."

"Could you tell him that I need to talk to him today?" Chihiro asked shyly.

"Yeah. Sure, I'll tell him. I'll get you to meet you at your school" Lynn said.

After that they parted ways; Lynn to the bath house, and Chihiro to her school. She made it there just in time.

(Back with Kira)

_'I didn't realize school took so long' _he thought.

He heard Chihiro's mother from downstairs. He moved closer to the door to hear her better.

"...I know. She's finally growing up...I met him only once...His name was Haku; he seemed like a really nice boy...at the new pool, he's a lifeguard. He saved her life." Chihiro's mother's gossip only angered Kira. Things in the young girls' room were flying in every direction and slamming into walls.

Chihiro's mother heard the noises and went to investigate. When she got to her daughters room, she dropped the phone, and screamed at the top of her lungs. This made

Kira stopped, and everything in the room dropped to the floor. The woman bolted downstairs, grabbed the car keys and left the house.

"Oops" said Kira.

(At the school; Lunchtime)

The secretary walked in the door of the classroom, and called Chihiro out. Chihiro left the room and followed the older woman until she saw her mother.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" She asked feeling very surprised to see her mother, more so to see her dressed sloppily.

"Honey...Can you see ghosts?" she asked quietly.

Chihiro was shocked to hear this. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Your things in your room were flying about in your room"

Chihiro's mother was shaking. Chihiro had never seen her like this.

"Mom, why don't you go to a friend's house?" Chihiro said.

"But, the ghost-"

"It's okay, mom"

"Alright. But call me when it's safe." the older woman said.

"Okay. Oh, and don't tell dad"

With that the mother left the school. Chihiro went back to finish her lunch. Now it was urgent to talk to Haku, she was at a loss; she had no idea what to do.

At the end of the day, just as Lynn said, Haku was waiting by the school gate.

"Rena, I gotta go" Chihiro said as she ran out of the classroom. Rena looked out the window to see what got Chihiro in a rush. She saw Haku and a smile crossed her face. "Good luck, girl." she whispered.

When Chihiro got outside, she saw another figure beside Haku. It was Kira. He was pouting that he couldn't lay a finger on Haku. He wanted to slaughter him for taking his Chihiro, but Haku's magic kept him at bay.

"He was causing trouble at your home. Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yes" great, now what was she going to talk about with him. She didn't want to tell him that Kira was hitting on her, at the very least in front of Kira himself.

"Did you want to go for a walk?" Haku asked.

"Yes" overjoyed, Chihiro answered, which made Kira unhappy.

* * *

**R & R Please.**


	6. Chapter 6  Battle

__

**Disclaimer: I don't own any 'Spirited Away' characters**

__

**

* * *

**

Chapter 6 - Battle

Haku and Chihiro walked all the way to the park. The occasional 'humph' was heard from Kira. The last 'humph' from Kira was heard about twenty minutes ago, but Chihiro didn't mind, at least he was being quiet.

Suddenly the ground shook, surprising both Chihiro and Haku. Kira wasn't surprised at all, he knew what was coming.

"Chihiro stay here" was what he said before he gave Chihiro Kira's statue and started running. He turned into his dragon form, and left the ground.

Chihiro was in awe. When she came back to her senses, she started running in the same direction as Haku. There was no way she was going to stay put while he put himself in harm's way.

"What possible help could you offer? Why go after him?" Kira asked her.

Chihiro stopped and looked at him solemnly. Then she looked at the stream of white moving in the sky. She blushed and looked down with a worried expression on her face.

"...I don't know what I can do. I just want to be there for him, if by any chance he needs me" she said. She started running again. Kira, still being dragged along, was now mulling over his own thoughts. Finally he let out a sigh. _'Fine'_.

"Chihiro" Kira started. "Haku has sent nearly all of the spirits in this area back to the spirit world. The one that he's facing now, and myself are the last ones"

Chihiro gasped. She knew where he was getting at. She still wanted to be with him.

"Even if it's for a short while. I will spend all the time left with him." she said.

Chihiro stopped at the edge of town, where she saw Haku getting beaten by a rather large spirit. Haku wasn't trying to fight back, because he wasn't able to send this powerful of a spirit back by force. He was lying in his dragon form a few feet away from it.

"HAKU!"

Haku's eyes shot wide open at the sound of Chihiro's voice. She was now rushing towards him.

"Stay back" Haku tried to warn her.

The spirit, noticing that the boys' weakness was this girl, gave a chilling smile, and started to walk towards her. Chihiro didn't realize the spirit was now targeting her. She reached Haku before the spirit reached her. She put the no-face statue down next to her and reached down to pick up Haku's large head.

"You shouldn't be here. Leave while you still can" Haku ordered.

"I'm not leaving you here like this. You'll be killed."

"Chihiro! Look ou-"

Before Haku could even finish his sentence, the spirit wrapped its large hand around Chihiro's torso.

"This no name spirit is trying to get me to leave this wonderful place. I don't want to leave" The spirit said hold Chihiro up to its face.

"He's not a 'no name' spirit. He's the Kohaku river spirit. He just wants to take you home" Chihiro struggled to say.

This only irritated the spirit. It tightened its grip on Chihiro, breaking at least two ribs.

"CHIHIRO" Both Haku and Kira yelled in unison as Chihiro let out a loud cry of pain.

The spirit tossed Chihiro over his shoulder. She let out another yelp of pain as she hit the ground.

Haku changed back to his human form, and before he could rush over to the wounded girl, Kira stopped him.

"Haku, Break the spells you put on me." Kira ordered as his anger appeared in flames around him.

Haku did just that. At the moment the spells were broken Kira disappeared. This was a cue for Haku to get to Chihiro.

Kira reappeared floating next to the head of the spirit, and delivered a powerful kick. All the while saying things like: 'How dare you hurt her', and 'you're gonna pay for what you did'.

Haku knelt down next to Chihiro, and picked up her upper half. She groaned from the pain and looked up at Haku, tears welling up in her eyes. She closed her eyes, letting one tear escape. Haku figured this was as good an opportunity as any, and placed his free hand on Chihiro's ribs and leaned in close to whisper the healing spell in her ear. As soon as the words left his lips his hand started to glow. It glowed for about fifteen seconds, and then stopped.

"How do you feel?" he asked her.

She half opened her eyes to gaze into Haku's emerald ones. They were full of worry. She showed him a small smile.

"I'm fine now, thanks to you. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come. I just cause problems" she was so full of self-pity that she couldn't help but be negative about this situation.

"That's not true at all. You brought Kira." He said trying to make her feel better.

Chihiro looked past Haku to find Kira still beating the snot out of the spirit. She felt surprised and scared at the same time.

Kira was no longer saying anything. He was so angry, he lost sight of himself. He was so berserk that he didn't feel the occasional but powerful hits he was receiving.

"Kira. That's enough" Haku tried to get the angry spirit to stop, but Kira didn't seem to hear him.

Chihiro was speechless. This was worse than the time he went crazy in the bath house. She was worried for Kira; she didn't want him to lose himself completely. She knew his true self; she learned it long ago. He was actually very gentle. He simply wanted friends; though that appears to have changed for Chihiro. Chihiro stood up shakily, but she didn't have enough strength. She started to fall back when Haku grabbed her shoulders. She put one arm around Haku's head to better lean on him while she stood beside him. At the same time he put his arm around her waist to support her.

"KIRA!STOP IT!" Chihiro screamed.

Chihiro's voice seemed to have accomplished something that Haku's couldn't. Kira stopped attacking, and looked at Chihiro. A chill ran up her spine. Kira's eyes were white; no pupil, no iris, just white. He left the now unconscious spirit and floated towards the weak Chihiro. As scared as she was she didn't even try to retreat backwards.

"Kira, it's okay now. Calm down."

Kira relaxed and returned back to normal with the sound of Chihiro's voice. "Chihiro? I'm sorry" he said while lowering his head in shame. Chihiro hobbled over with Haku to the beaten spirit. They knelt down near its head while Kira was a few paces back, making sure it didn't suddenly attack Chihiro.

"You have to go back to the spirit world. The living world is not safe. Other ghosts aren't the only threat. Will you go back?" Haku asked.

The giant weakened spirit nodded its head slowly. Then Haku turned towards Kira.

"Stay with it while I bring Chihiro home" Kira nodded towards Haku.

Haku changed to his dragon form, and lowered himself to make it easier for Chihiro to climb on. The weak girl climbed on behind his head, like she did twice before, and grabbed a hold on his horns once again. Haku took off as smoothly as he could for he knew she was weak from both the shock of getting attacked by a spirit, and healing unnaturally, her body needed rest.

They got to her house in to time. Haku helped her through the front door (AN: He didn't go through her bedroom window because a dragon that size just wouldn't fit comfortably in the house), and up the stairs, until they got to her bedroom, which was still a mess from Kira. Chihiro reached to pick up the phone that her mother had dropped, but Haku quickly did it for her. He put the phone on her night stand and helped her into bed. She noticed that he did this rather sluggishly.

"There, you need rest, so you should go to sleep" he told her.

"So do you. You were beaten pretty badly, even if you deny it, it shows" she stated.

He looked back at her, smiling, but his eyes still looked a little sad. "You're right. I'll go home and rest" he said turning to leave. "Goodbye, Chihiro".

"Wait, will I see you again?" Chihiro asked him hastily, but Haku didn't answer her. When he was gone she started crying, she knew she might not see him again, in fact that was a strong possibility.

-...-

When Haku got back to Kira, the spirit was standing and waiting to go. Kira was watching Haku approach with his arms folded.

"I'm going back too" Kira said. "You're the one she really wants to be with Haku."

Haku looked at Kira questionably, and then looked down.

"I don't know if I can come back to her this time" he finally admitted.

Kira unfolded his arms angrily. "You better come back to her"

Haku was surprised that Kira would be the one to tell him that. Finally he smiled, and once again turned into a dragon. "I'll do my best". He lifted off the ground and started off toward the spirit world.

"Hey, shouldn't we wait for Lynn?" Kira asked Haku.

"She wants to stay here. It's easy for someone like her; no one will notice that she's gone." Haku answered. _'Unlike me. But I can't let that stop me.'_

****

_

* * *

_

****_****_


	7. Chapter 7  Together at Last

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of 'Spirited Away'.**

* * *

Chapter 7 - Together at Last

"Chihiro, Get up. Or you're going to be late" Chihiro's mother called from the main floor.

Chihiro rolled over and sat on the edge of her bed. It has been one month; one complete month, since Haku and Kira left. The first week they were gone, she spent most of her free time crying; which left her parents at a loss. She didn't know that once she gazed into his beautiful green eyes, she would want to look at them every day.

She missed him more than she did before, it was unbearable.

Chihiro walked slowly down the stairs, where breakfast was waiting for her.

All her movements were very slow, as if she had given up on life. When she finished her breakfast she brought her dishes to the sink, washed them, and gathered her things and left for school. On the way, as usual, she met up with Rena.

Rena had been careful not to mention Haku around Chihiro. The first two days he was gone and she mentioned him, Chihiro broke down in tears, and was down for the rest of the day. Rena asked Chihiro's mother if she knew anything, but the older woman had the same luck. The only thing they knew was as fall approached, the wind picked up, every time there would be a strong breeze, Chihiro seemed more content.

*Brrrrrrrrr*

The bell signalled the end of the day, and Chihiro parted from Rena. This had become an occasional habit; leaving right after school, disappearing for hours: nobody knew where she went during this time.

Rena left the school about half an hour after Chihiro did. She had club activities that she had to get away from. Today was the day that she was going to find out where her best friend went. It was too late, of course, Chihiro had already long gone. That didn't stop the eager Rena, she was going to ask around.

She asked anyone in sight. A woman walking her dog, the store owners along the way; anyone and everyone. All the leads Rena got pointed the very hill that Chihiro and herself lived on, so, naturally, Rena left towards Chihiro's house; assuming she was there, where else could she be?

Rena walked up the front steps and knocked on the door. The one who answered the door was the missing girls' father.

"Oh, Mr. Ogino. Has Chihiro come home yet?" she asked feeling a little nervous. Rena never really felt comfortable around her friends' fathers.

"No. Not yet" he answered with a sigh. At which point her friend's mother came around the corner.

"Ah, Rena. I suppose you're looking for Chihiro. Why don't you wait for her here?" she asked cheerfully.

"Sure."

Rena waited for Chihiro in the house for four hours. Then, not a moment too soon, Chihiro walked in, her gloomy self still lingering.

"Rena? What are you doing here?" Chihiro asked with a hint of surprise in her voice.

"That's not how you greet a friend" Rena started.

"Chihiro, why don't you and Rena go talk in your room. I'll bring in some snacks later" Chihiro's mother said with an obvious shove (AN: not in a pushy 'get out of here' way).

With that, Rena grabbed Chihiro's wrist and dragged her upstairs. Only five minutes in that Rena realized that she was thoroughly disappointed. She waited for Chihiro with the expectation that Rena could perform a friends' duty: listening to a friend vent, be their crying shoulder; that sort of thing, but it wasn't like that at all.

Chihiro was not like any of Rena's other friends. Make no mistake, Chihiro was her best friend, but sometimes, Rena didn't understand her. Chihiro wasn't much like the typical girl at all. For example, when the two girls went shopping weeks ago. A typical girl event, right? While Rena did her girly shopping; cloths, earrings, and other types of jewellery, Chihiro bought a little, twelve inch wooden statue; not something a regular girl would buy. Anyway, back on track, Rena began tapping her foot impatiently at her friends' silence.

"Chihiro, why won't you tell me what's going on? You've been like this for a month. I'm your best friend and you still won't tell me" Rena's tone of voice demanded to know the reason why her friend was so distraught.

"Chihiro looked at Rena worriedly, then looked down.

"Um...I've just been a little lonely. No big deal" Chihiro said trying to sound cheerful.

"But, why are you lonely? Is this because you haven't seen Haku lately?"

That last question told Rena that she hit the nail on the head; not that it wasn't obvious. Chihiro's eyes went so glossy; they looked like they were made of glass. So Rena did what most friends did, and started rubbing the sad girls back.

"He... he had to leave." Chihiro managed to say before the tears flooded out of her.

"The snacks are done" sang Chihiro's mother. She stopped in the doorway at the sight of her daughter crying. Her intuition told her that Chihiro had confessed to Rena.

She left snacks on the side table and left the room. After Chihiro's mother had left, Rena continued with the conversation; hoping she would have the same luck.

"So...where do you go when you disappear?"

No luck. Chihiro didn't answer Rena's last question. Rena noticed that it had got late, so she gave up pestering Chihiro, and got up to leave. She said her goodbyes to Chihiro and her parents, and finally left.

Chihiro walked up the stairs back to her bedroom. She changed into her pyjamas, turned her light off, and climbed into to her bed. Some time past and she could hear her parents talking to each other. They were talking about Chihiro's behaviour as of late. Eventually, Chihiro got bored of listening to the conversation, and her parents left to go to bed.

The entire house was dark. The neighbourhood was dark. The only light was the crescent moon, and the stars in the sky. Chihiro turned her head; looking outside. She saw the obvious moon, the stars, and very few clouds. She kept on scanning the sky from her bedroom window, until her eyes locked onto something that moved, but immediately disappeared. Chihiro sat up, trying to find the mysterious stream of white that seemed to flow across the sky, but it was no longer in sight. Just as she was turning her head away, a gust of wind, so strong, blew the window wide open. Chihiro knew this familiar breeze, and a happy grin crossed her face.

She hopped out of bed, slipped into her slippers and began stampeding down the stairs. Her parents, after hearing the loud footsteps on the stairs, came running out of their bedroom in a panic.

"Chihiro?" they said, but the girl had already bolted out of the house.

Chihiro was running down the street; surprisingly fast for someone wearing slippers. She got to the corner, and looked around frantically. She looked down the hill where the street continued, but saw no one. Then, somewhat doubtingly, looked down the grassy side of the hill, and there he was. Haku was walking up. He looked up at her and smiled. Chihiro ran down the hill at full speed. The dew that was already on the grass made it impossible for her to stop; not that she wanted to. Haku, already realizing her intentions, opened up his arm, inviting the girl in. To his surprise, she didn't slow down. When she got to him, she wrapped her arms around him, the impact sending them down the hill a little way.

Haku was now lying on his back, returning the embrace he was receiving from the girl that was on his chest. He leaned forward so that he was sitting up. Their reunion hug had diminished a little; her arms were now on his chest, and he had one of his arms on her waist, while his other hand brushed the hair out of her face. He let out a slight giggle.

"What? I don't see you for a month, and all you can do is laugh at me?" she said, tears of happiness staining her face.

"I didn't really expect you to come in your pyjamas" he started.

Chihiro blushed a little. "I missed you so much. Though it was just a month, it felt closer to a year."

Haku related to the exaggerated comparison, and his eyes softened as they gazed at Chihiro's. He brought her chin up and whispered. "I missed you too. I won't ever leave you again." Then he gently pressed his lips on hers. They had both been waiting for this moment, and now it was finally here. As he pulled her body into a passionate embrace, she brought her arms around him once more.

-END-

* * *

**There, the end. I hoped you liked this fanfic, it was my first one, so please R & R. :)**


End file.
